Days 81-90: At the All-Star Break!

Just past the midway point of the season now and the races reman tight.  No one is more than 2 games ahead of their division competition.  2013 and 1946 are just .5 game from each other in the Navin, as are the 2006 and 1909 teams in the Briggs.  1961 is 2 ahead of 1969 in the Fetzer.  1935 has a 1 game lead over 1950 in the Ilitch.

1915 Ty Cobb is on pace to obliterate the single season stolen base record (currently 130 by Rickey Henderson).  Manager Mike Walter has given the Georgia Peach the green light and the results are astounding.  Cobb already have more steals in this replay than he did in real-life (99 at our halfway point compared to 96 in all of 1915!).  1911 Ty Cobb is still hanging in the .400 club despite a mini-slump, he is leading the league with a .401 average.  2013 Miggy still leads in HRs (27) but is being pressed by 2012 Miggy (26).  1924 Harry Heilmann has overtaken Miggy in the RBI lead though, with 84 runs driven in.  1909 rotation mates George Mullin and Ed Summers lead the league in wins, with 14.  1961 Jim Bunning has tied those two with his recent 14th win.  2011 Justin Verlander is the new ERA leader at 2.22, and 1946 Hal Newhouser continues to lead in K's with 182.

1946 Dizzy Trout is our Player of the Block!  There were other top contenders, including 1950 Hoot Evers (.414. 5 HRs), 1961 Norm Cash (.438, 5 HRs), and 1946 Hank Greenberg (.318 , 6 HRs), but The Dizzy One had an outstanding stretch of 3-0, 3 CGs, 20 K's, and ZERO runs allowed!!!

Day 81 1924 defeated 2012 by a score of 20-12 in the biggest slugfest of the year (combined runs 32, combined hits 40!)  1924 OF Harry Heilmann had 5 hits and an eye-popping 9 RBIs. tying 1968 Jim Northrup for most in a game this season!!!  1946 Dizzy Trout outdueled 1944 Dizzy Trout in an 8-1 game.  2014 Torii Hunter clubbed two homers, a grand slam and a three-run shot!  1934 Jo-Jo White collected 4 hits as 1934 edged 1961 5-3.  1993 got home runs from Mickey Tettleton, Sweet Lou Whitaker, and The Not So Sweet Kirk Gibson.

Day 82  2014's Don Kelly gets the highly unusual walk-off  safe-on-base-due-to-an-error  in an 2-1 win over Ed Summers and the 1909 squad.  1973 Joe Coleman shut out 1907 on just five hits.  1915 Bernie Boland earned his 13th win against just 3 losses, beating 2013 7-2.  1934 found themselves down 1-0 in the bottom of the 9th against 1961, but churned out two runs from a Goose Goslin walk-off double off of Terry Fox.

Day 83  2012 dropped their ninth straight, falling just short to Tommy Bridges and the 1940 team 4-3.  1993 blasted hapless Jim Perry and the 1973 team 14-1.  1993 3B Scott Livingstone had a single, double, and home run.  1909 Ty Cobb slugged his 8th home run of the year, not bad for a Dead Baller.  1907 Rufe Gentry is on a winning streak, notching his 2nd win of the year with a complete game performance against 1944.  The Rufie is now 2-14 on the season.  1950 Hoot Evers had 2 HRs and 7 RBIs to back Art Houtteman in a 12-7 win against 1924.  2013 V-Mart hit a grand slam off of 2006 Zach Minor.  2014 Joba Chamberlain moved to 9-1 on a walk-off single from Nick Castellanos.
Day 84  The 2012 team gets off the schneid with a 5-4 win over 1940, Delmon Young brought home the game-winning run.  2006 Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez collected 4 hits and Jeremy Bonderman pitched 8 strong innings in a 4-2 win against 2-13.  1984 wins 5-3 over 1961, this one was decided by a Barbaro Garbey two-run single off of Don Mossi.  1907 Ty Cobb had 4 hits and sent 1944 to defeat 8-2.  Two very dramatic home team wins based on 4 run ninth innings tonight - 2011 used a Victor Martinez three-run home run to help topple 2014 10-7 and the 1950 team got a similar three-run shot from Johnny Lipon en route to winning 7-6 against Hooks Dauss and the 1924 team.

Day 85  Big day for first basemen!  1961 1B Norm Cash had 2 HRs and drove in all four runs in the 4-3 win.  1946 1B Hank Greenberg had two doubles and a home run.  2012 1B Prince Fielder had 3 hits, including his 14th homer.  In non-first-baseman-news, 1934 Tommy Bridges blanked 1908 on just 3 hits.  1946 Dizzy Trout limited 1911 to just 1 run and 3 hits in a 13-1 laugher.  

Jim Walewander and the Dead Milkmen!

Day 86  1935 get a 6-5 win over 1945, Rudy York racked up 4 base hits.  1934 Schoolboy Rowe topped Doug Fister and the 2012 team 7-2, and the 1934 team now has won 7 in a row!  1961 Norm Cash continued his reign of terror, hitting his 23rd and 24th home runs off of 1924 Lil Stoner.  Jimmy Outlaw knocked in the winning runs for both the 1944 and 1946 teams!  I NEVER thought I would get to include THIS guy in the highlight writeups - 1987 Jim Walewander (super fan of the punk group The Dead Milkmen) hit two homers to lift 1987 past 1973 6-5.  Those were Walewander's first dingers of the season.

Day 87  1924 Harry Heilmann hits a 11th inning walk-off homer.  1987 Chet Lemon had two homers, including a grand slam, in an 8-4 romp over 1973.  2013 Justin Verlander shut out 1940, scattering 9 hits.  2006 reliever Jason Grilli got the win when Carlos Guillen went yard to give 2006 the 4-3 win over Tommy Bridges and the 1946 team.

Day 88  1935 Tommy Bridges blanked 1945 on 9 hits.  1961 Don Mossi had a shutout of his own against 1924.  But wait, there's more!  1907 Ed Siever shut out 1950 as well!

Day 89  1946 Dizzy Trout didn't allow a hit until the 7th, and finished with a two-hit win against 2011.  1915 Jean Dubuc turned the exact same trick, but against 1944.  2014 was behind 6-2 going into the top of the 9th, but jumped all over 1934 reliever Chief Hogsett and rolled up five runs to take a 7-6 win.

Day 90  1909 Ed Summers blanked 1993 on 5 hits, and is now 14-5 on the year.  1973 Mickey Lolich one-upped Kickipoo Ed, whitewashing 1968 5-0 on just 4 hits.  2013 Austin Jackson had 4 hits to back Anibal Sanchez (now 8-3) over 2013.  2012 Prince Fielder clubbed two HRs in a 6-5 win over George Mullin and the 1907 squad.  1940 Hammerin' Hank Greenberg had 4 hits in an 12-11 win over 1924.  1987 Pat Sheridan of Eastern Michigan University (cue Jim Price: "EMU?  Nice area" ) had the game-winning hit in the 13th inning, 1987 defeats 1908 5-2.